Correction To Disability Insurance Premium Reductions:

The full premiums for Long Term Disability and the Income Protection Plan are being refunded for the months of January through June, 2009. Premiums were reduced beginning in July, 2009. The June 29 announcement stated that the difference in the cost of the premiums for the first six months of 2009 would be refunded. However, it is the full cost of the premiums for January through June, not just the difference in the cost, that is being refunded on the July 31, 2009, paycheck.

Disability Insurance Premium Reductions

Premiums for SEGIP Long Term Disability (LTD) and the Manager's Income Protection Plan (IPP) have been reduced approximately 10%. The new premium rate schedule from Minnesota Management & Budget is attached and it is also posted at www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/ins/adv-ee/LTD-IPPrate_reduction.pdf.

Employees enrolled in either the LTD or IPP will see a premium reduction beginning with the July 2, 2009, paycheck. A refund for the premium reduction from January through June, 2009, will be paid on the July 31 paycheck. Remember that the July 31 paycheck is the third paycheck in one month, so it will not have any deductions for insurance premiums or pre-tax benefits.

Employer-paid premiums for Manager's IPP will also be reduced approximately 10% and the difference refunded.

If you have any questions, call Therese Mullins at 389-6942 or SEGIP at (651) 355-0100.

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MSRS Rate Increase

Contribution rates for the Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) General Employees Retirement Plan will increase in July. Both the employee and employer contributions will change from 4.5% to 4.75% beginning on the July 31, 2009, paycheck.

The MSRS General Plan is the retirement plan that most AFSCME, MAPE, MMA, MNA, MGEC, Commissioner's Plan and Managerial Plan employees are in. A gradual increase of the MSRS contribution rates was mandated through State legislation several years ago. For additional information, go to www.msrs.state.mn.us/gerp/index.htmls.

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Notice to Employees with Dependent Medical and/or Dental Insurance

Please be reminded of the need to inform the Employee Insurance Division of any graduations for dependents who are ages 19 through 24.  Employees with graduating dependents must complete a Basic Application or a Dependent Change Form to secure COBRA insurance options for their graduate.  Insurance coverage will continue through the end of the month in which the student has completed their course work, not the month in which they participate in a graduation ceremony.

The form indicating that the graduation will or has occurred must be completed and submitted to the Employee Insurance Division within 60-days of the graduation to ensure that your dependent is offered COBRA continuation coverage.  If notification is not received within the proper timeframe, the opportunity to continue coverage will be lost.

Please note, if your dependent has graduated and they have enrolled in a new course of study to begin in the fall, they still need to be cancelled from the medical and dental insurance so that the COBRA coverage can be offered due to the qualified event.  Students, who successfully return to another full-time course of study after the summer off, may apply for coverage retroactive to graduation for summer coverage once they have successfully returned to school.  While this process seems cumbersome, it is critical to have the COBRA offer made at the appropriate time.  There have been instances where a graduate, planning to return to school in the fall, was unable to do so because of an illness.  Unfortunately, they lost their opportunity for COBRA continuation coverage just when they needed it the most.

If you have questions about student eligibility or graduation, please contact Therese Mullins in Human Resources at 389-6942 or the Employee Insurance Division at 651-355-0100. 

The Dependent Change Form (to drop a dependent but retain family coverage for spouse or other dependents) and the Basic Application (to change from family to employee-only coverage) are available at http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/adv-health.

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New SCHIP/CHIPRA Enrollment Events

To Insurance-Eligible Employees:

Two new special insurance enrollment periods have been added to the State Employee Group Insurance Program (SEGIP). As of April 1, 2009, employees and their insurance eligible dependents have a 60 day special enrollment period upon:

1. Termination of coverage under Medicaid or a CHIP* due to loss of eligibility. Termination of coverage event does not include failure to pay premiums; or
2. Becoming eligible for premium assistance subsidy from a state under Medicaid or a CHIP*.

An employee wishing to change their insurance coverage because of either of these two special events must notify SEGIP within 60 days of the event. The phone number for SEGIP is (651) 355-0100.

*CHIP or CHIPRA, is the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization. Previously it was called SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program).

SEGIP does not know of any premium assistance programs or subsidies at this time. They will provide information as it becomes available.

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Faculty & Administrators HRA Update

To Faculty and Administrators:

This message is for those faculty and administrators who were employed in insurance-eligible positions as of 1/1/09 and are eligible for the MnSCU HRA.

The Office of the Chancellor has reported that they have completed reconciling the MnSCU HRA accounts with Eide Bailly.

For those who had less than $500 remaining in the HRA based on claims received by Eide Bailly on or before 12/31/08:

• The 2009 contribution ($800 for IFO, $600 for Administrators) has been posted to your 2009 MnSCU HRA account and you can view it online.
• Eide Bailly has also updated your Benny™ cards with the 2009 contribution amount.

For those who had $500 or more remaining in the HRA based on claims received by Eide Bailly on or before 12/31/08:

• The 2009 contribution ($800 for IFO, $600 for Administrators) has been directed to the Health Care Savings Plan (HCSP), an account you will be able to use after your employment ends.
• If this is your first contribution to the HCSP you will receive information and an HCSP investment selection form in the mail from Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) in the coming weeks.

As for the remaining 2008 HRA balance, if any:

• The balance will remain available for reimbursement of 2008 expenses through February 28, 2009.
• If you wish to spend down your 2008 balance, you must use paper reimbursement claim forms or the online account (the Benny™ card won't work) and be sure to indicate "2008" as the benefit year.
• After the end of February, any remaining unused balance from 2008 will be added to your 2009 HRA online account and Benny™ cards.

You can view your HRA balances on the Eide Bailly web-site, www.eidebaillybenefits.com/som, under the 2008 and 2009 year tabs. Only the new 2009 contribution, if any, will be reflected for plan year 2009 until after the end of February.

Also, just a reminder that 2009 accounts will be used in the following order:

1. MDEA account, if any
2. State $250 HRA
3. MnSCU HRA

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Benny™ Cards

Benny™ cards are scheduled to be mailed to employees the week of January 18 according to Minnesota Management & Budget (MMB). The Benny™ card can be used to pay for out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses from your HRA and/or MDEA accounts.

When you receive your Benny™ card, remember to call the number on the card to activate it, just like you would a credit card. The card will be activated 24 to 48 hours after you call.

More information about using the Benny™ card is included in the HRA documents on the Eide Bailly website, www.eidebailly.com/services/benefits/doer/, in the Plan Information sections and at www.mnsu.edu/humanres/bennycard/

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Excluded Administrators and IFO: Employer-paid Contribution

From: Mullins, Therese A
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 5:20 PM
To: <ALL> Excluded-Administrators; <ALL> IFO-Employees
Subject: HRA Information

To Insurance-Eligible IFO Faculty and Administrators:

You will be getting an employer-paid contribution to the MnSCU Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) in 2009 if you are actively employed in an IFO or administrator position and eligible for an employer contribution toward insurance on January 1, 2009.  Following are the contribution amounts for 2009 based on the IFO contract and the personnel plan for administrators:

• IFO - $800
• Administrators - $600

In addition, the state is contributing $250 to an HRA for each employee who is enrolled in health insurance on January 1, 2009, and you may also enroll in the Medical/Dental Expense Account (MDEA) during Open Enrollment.  The money will be used in the following order:

• Your 2009 MDEA election, if any
• $250 State HRA
• 2009 MnSCU HRA

Any unused HRA balance will carry forward to the next calendar year if you continue to be employed in an insurance-eligible position.

For faculty and administrators whose employment began after January 1, 2008, this will be the first time that you will get any contribution to the HRA.

For faculty and administrators who have been here longer, the $600 or $800 contribution for 2009 will either be added to your MnSCU HRA or else it will go into the Health Care Savings Plan (HCSP).  This depends on how much you have left in the MnSCU HRA on December 31, 2008.  Based on the claims Eide Bailly receives from you by December 31, 2008:

• If your HRA balance is LESS than $500, then the 2009 contribution will be added to the HRA
• If your HRA is $500 OR MORE, then the 2009 contribution will go into the HCSP

The deadline for submitting 2008 claims to Eide Bailly is February 28, 2009.  However, only those claims received by December 31 will be used to determine whether the 2009 contribution goes into the HRA or the HCSP.

The HCSP is a medical/dental account that you will be able to use after your employment has ended.

Following are some examples of where a person’s 2009 MnSCU HRA contribution will be directed:

EXAMPLE 1
John is an IFO member who has $600 in his HRA in 2008.  John submits reimbursement claims for $400 and Eide Bailly receives these reimbursement claims by December 31.  Eide Bailly sends John his $400 reimbursement.  The remaining $200 carries forward to 2009 and $800 is added to it so he has a total of $1,000 in his MnSCU HRA in 2009.  He also gets the $250 State HRA.

EXAMPLE 2
Bob is an IFO member who has $600 in his HRA in 2008.  Bob submits reimbursement claims for $400 but Eide Bailly does not receive these reimbursement claims until January 2.  Eide Bailly sends Bob his $400 reimbursement.  The remaining $200 carries forward to 2009.  The $800 contribution for 2009 is put into the HCSP.  He also gets the $250 State HRA.

You will find more information about the HRA and the MDEA on the the Eide Bailly website, https://www.eidebailly.com/services/benefits/doer.  You can also access your pre-tax accounts on that website. 

The 2009 deposit and/or the balance carried forward from 2008 will appear in your online account after Eide Bailly finishes processing the claims they receive by the December 31 deadline.  That may take them several weeks, so please don’t expect your account to be updated immediately on January 1.  You will be able to submit reimbursement claims for expenses incurred on or after January 1 and Eide Bailly will process those claims as soon as they have updated the 2009 account records.

If you have an HCSP account, you may view your account balance or get more information about the HCSP on the MSRS website, http://www.msrs.state.mn.us.  As with the HRA, the HCSP accounts will not be updated for 2009 until after Eide Bailly has finished processing the claims received by December 31.

Please contact me at 6942 or therese.mullins@mnsu.edu if you have any questions.

 

Therese Mullins
Benefits Specialist
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Human Resources
336 Wigley Administration Center
Mankato, MN  56001

Phone:  (507) 389-6942
Fax:  (507) 389-2960
E-mail:  therese.mullins@mnsu.edu